TAKING THE HIGH ROAD ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Editorial The opinion of the Mercury News

THE point of Proposition 215 was that people ought to have legal access to
marijuana for medical purposes. But if state and federal officials have
their way, the only way cancer and AIDS victims will be able to get the
drug is if they know a pusher.

A recent court ruling closed down San Francisco's Cannabis Buyers Club, and
state Attorney General Dan Lungren is saying all operations to sell medical
marijuana are illegal as a result. This would mean people who need
marijuana for medical purposes would have to know somebody who sells the
drug illegally for recreational use. Average folks who don't use
recreational drugs would have nowhere to go without having to feel like
criminals.

To carry out the intent of Proposition 215, there has to be some legal
outlet for marijuana intended for medical purposes.

Unlike state and federal drug fighters, San Jose and Santa Clara County
public officials continue to take an enlightened approach to Proposition 215.

District Attorney George Kennedy, Police Chief Lou Cobarruviaz and City
Attorney Joan Gallo have decided that the Santa Clara County Medical
Cannabis Center on Meridian Avenue is different from the San Francisco
operation, where, for instance, children were found on the premises. They
believe the local center qualifies under 215 as a ``primary care provider''
for its members, and they will allow it to stay open.

Elected officials here have shown similar support for this compassionate
enterprise. Marijuana is so politically sensitive that until recently,
it's been impossible to do serious studies of its medical worth. But
there's lots of anecdotal evidence that it can relieve pain and nausea, the
side effects of chemotherapy that sometimes keeps patients from eating.
Experts disagree on whether marijuana is addictive, but it can't be any
worse than lots of other addictive drugs already available by prescription.

Ballot initiatives often result in bad government because they take an
extreme position, lacking the reasonable compromise you ideally get with
representative lawmaking. But in this case, the voters have taken the
reasonable view, and it's state and federal leaders who are engaging in
hysterical hype. We're glad local leaders are staying on the rational side
and keeping the local cannabis center open.